


Firebender from The North

by mistsparkz



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Compliant, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, OC X CANON, POV First Person, Pining, english is not authors first language, idk liv and toph are just friends for quite a while, if cussing was allowed in the atla universe, kind of slowburn??, the gaang is one giant family, theres just a bunch of cussing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28770819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistsparkz/pseuds/mistsparkz
Summary: Liv is a firebender from the northern Fire Nation. She escaped and has been on the run for years, until she finds herself befriending the Avatar and his group. Now, it's time for her to play her own part in ending the war that drove her away from her home.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), The Gaang (Avatar) & Original Character(s), Toph Beifong & Original Female Character(s), Toph Beifong/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> hnhnnghnhngnhh i'm not really sure how to feel about this as a start but i'll just go with the flow, hopefully this will go somewhere cause this oc is kind of my comfort oc and i've wanted to write about her for quite a while now----  
> anyways, hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

“Ugh!” I groaned as I hit the ground with a loud thud. I could hear the growling from behind me which quickly sprung me to my feet, continuing my failing escape plan as thorns and rocks dug their ways into my skin and bare feet. _Shit shit shit,_ I repeated in my head as I clutched my bundle of fabric closer to my chest, still running from the creatures that were chasing me. I dared to turn my head over my shoulder momentarily only to see one of the horrid things jump at me with its mouth open, its sharp teeth and long tongue making its way towards me. 

I shrieked loudly and swiftly turned to the left where I could soon see a path start to form. The rustling and growling and snapping of teeth behind me only got louder and louder as my legs screamed out in pain. 

I ran and I ran until I could feel my body start to give out beneath me and panic flooded over me. I frantically turned my head in all directions, looking for any possible way out of here and saw the edge of a cliff and heard the sound of rushing water. 

_Fortune favours the bold,_ I thought to myself as I sprinted towards the cliff. I stopped for a moment at the edge, panting heavily, looking down and seeing a huge waterfall with a small pool of water at the bottom. 

Suddenly a twig snapped behind me and I turned around to see a group of five or so creatures creeping towards me, all with their mouths hanging open to display their sharp teeth and their wide eyes fully focused on me and the bundle of cloth that I held. I took a cautious step back, stumbling when my heel hit the edge of the cliff sending a few small rocks tumbling over the edge and a yelp escaped my mouth.  
  
The snarling creatures creeped closer, drool dripping down their wide open jaws as giant, clawed paws hit the ground with soft thuds. 

I took a deep breath, squeezed my eyes shut and took the last step back, falling over the edge. 

I curled myself into a ball, clutching the bundle tight to my chest as wind rushed past me, making my short auburn hair move like waves. 

Out of pure muscle memory, my body started shifting mid-air, going from a fetal position to fully straight, prepared to meet the surface of the water. And it came. Very suddenly, as the tips of my toes stung from the impact while the rest of my body was enveloped with the cool liquid. 

Instinctively my knees started going back up to regain my fetal position, before my brain kicked in and I instead started swimming to the surface. My legs flailing wildly, I finally reached the surface, opening my amber eyes and taking in a much needed breath.

Tossing my hair to the side, I let one of my arms leave its grip on the bundle that I still had clutched to my chest and started to swim towards the shore. Reaching the edge, I reach up and grab hold of the ground, dragging my body out of the water as deep breaths slowly came out of my mouth. 

Sitting at the edge, my lower legs mindlessly dangling around in the water, I finally place the cloth on my thighs, unfolding the fabric. 

I carefully pick up some fruit and a piece of, now soggy, bread, carefully munching on the food as the red hues of the sunset softly hit the water lapping softly at my feet. 

Suddenly, I hear a low roar and a loud thud as something big hits the ground and I freeze, listening for any indication of danger, when I suddenly hear voices. Relaxing my stance, I turn my head and look curiously in the direction of the voices. They sound young, maybe around my age.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I rise fully out of the water and walk towards the sound, making sure to stay light on my feet. Wouldn’t want to accidentally startle a Fire Nation troup. 

Wincing slightly as I start feeling the stinging from stepping on rocks and pebbles, I finally reach a clearing, hiding behind some bushes as I observe the group of people. 

Three. That’s how many they were. One short, young boy with a bald head and a blue arrow running out from his back, reaching his forehead, dressed in vibrant oranges and reds was petting a giant fuzzy animal with six legs while the other two were bickering. The other two were significantly taller, one a guy and one a girl. They both had tan skin and fluffy, dark brown hair with striking blue eyes, both of their clothing dark blue with a few white parts. 

Silently watching the group of them interact, I subconsciously start backing away from them, not wanting to interfere with them as they would surely realise what I was, if my auburn hair, red, ragged clothes and bright, glowing amber eyes were any indication.

Suddenly a twig snapped underneath my foot, because of course it had to. _Fuck._ I thought as all their heads turned in my direction. “Who's there?!” the taller guy with the short ponytail yelled, reaching behind his back and bringing out a boomerang. The girl went into a bending stance and looked around, while the last one protectively placed a hand on the animal's nose, who seemed to be the only one that didn’t care.

“We know you’re there! Just come out, you won’t be able to surprise us anymore!” the guy yelled again.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm my racing heart, my clothes clinging to my still wet body, I carefully step out of the bushes and watch as all their eyes widen slightly. 

“I’m not here to hurt you, I promise.” I mumble out before any of them can say anything. “I just heard you all talking and wanted to see what was going on, but, I’ll leave you alone.” I started to turn around but suddenly the girl spoke.

“Are you alright?” she asked apprehensively. Looking at her, she had lowered her bending stance and was carefully making her way over to me. Freezing to the spot, a small frown appeared on my lips as my eyes widened in terror, shaking my head slightly. 

Her face softened and she reached out to touch my arm, which promptly caused me to flinch. She looked up at me and I could see she looked sad, which wasn’t much of a surprise.

I was wearing all tattered clothes, that were all wet and hung heavily around my body. Dark circles were formed around my eyes and my face had cuts all over it. My entire body was trembling uncontrollably, hunched over, and she reached out again, I didn’t react as much this time as I was prepared.

“Hey, stay for a while won’t you? You look like you could need some rest.” she offered me a kind smile. I looked at the other two, the young boy having a similar kind smile while the other guy just looked at me. I gave her a short nod and she started tugging me over towards where they had started setting up a camp. 

“I’m Katara by the way.” she mumbled gently. “What?” I asked, dumbfounded.

She chuckled and gently sat me down by their fire. “My name, it’s Katara.” she repeated. “And yours?” I looked at her, still confused as to why they were being so nice to me, the other two slowly going over to where me and Katara sat.

“Oh, I, I’m Liv.” I muttered, staring down at the ground. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Liv.” she chirped. She suddenly turned towards the other two as they sat down on either side of us. “This is Aang,” she gestured towards the short boy with the arrow, who was sitting next to her. He waved happily at me. “And this is my brother, Sokka.” she gestured towards the guy next to me with the short ponytail. He just looked at me suspiciously.

I nodded slowly and drew my knees up to my chest, shuffling closer to the fire. 

“And the bison over there is Appa.” Aang happily explained as he gestured towards the giant, fuzzy creature, who just let out a loud yawn and lied down. I once again nodded, never looking up from the ground.

A few minutes of silence passed before Sokka decided to break it.

“So, Liv, where are you from?” he asked. Of course he had to ask that specific question. And now I had to answer.

I looked up at him, locking eyes with him and answered honestly. “I’m from the Fire Nation up north. I had escaped with my parents and my sister, but they were captured about two years ago.” I replied. 

All their eyes widened slightly, and both Katara and Sokka moved away from me slightly. _Of course,_ I thought. _They’re Water Tribe, of course they would hate me after everything the Fire Nation has done to their people._

“I’m sorry, I’ll just go.” I started to sit up when Aang touched my arm softly. He didn’t look scared or angry, he just looked worried about me. 

“Are you okay?” he asked softly. “You escaped from the Fire Nation so something must have happened. Do you want to talk about it?” I drew in a quick, deep breath, biting harshly down on my inner cheek as I felt tears starting to make their way to my eyes. I shook my head violently and started trembling again. “No. No, I don’t.” I muttered.

He nodded, a sympathetic frown on his face. Katara slowly started to relax as well, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. They all looked at each other before Aang and Katara smiled, Sokka letting out a long sigh. I just looked at them, confused before he spoke.

“Okay, fine.” he muttered. “Do you want to stick with us?”

_What?_

My shock and confusion had to be clear on my face cause he spoke again. “You could stay with us if you want. Aang is the Avatar, he’s looking for an earthbending teacher right now.” he explained. “Eventually he’s going to need a firebending teacher so if you stick around maybe you could teach him? If you are a firebender that is.” 

I blinked slowly and nodded. “I am a firebender, I’m not that good at it but I know the basics.” a small smile made its way to my lips. “If you would let me stay with you, I would greatly appreciate that, and of course I could teach him firebending.”

“Great! We don’t have enough sleeping bags right now so you’ll just have to sleep with Appa. Don’t worry he’s really soft, right buddy?” Aang happily cheered as Appa growled. 

Finally letting a bright smile make its way to my face, a few small tears slide down my cheeks and suddenly I’m enveloped in a warm hug by Aang and Katara. Clutching onto them like my life depended on it, heavy sobs suddenly wrecking my whole body as the weight of everything finally started to settle, suddenly realising how tired and hungry I was.

Katara mumbled sweet and comforting words into my ears while rubbing my back softly while Aang rocked all three of us back and forth.

“Come on, Sokka. get over here.” Kataras head suddenly left its spot at my shoulder to look at her brother. He sighed, muttering a ‘fine’ as he started to make his way over to us as well, though he didn’t look all that unhappy about it, if the giant smile on his face was anything to go by.

After a very long group hug, we finally finished setting camp while Katara cooked our food. It was the best thing I had eaten in a long time, being on the run and I almost started crying again, thanking her profusely for the food.

Eventually the sun set and we all went to go sleep, me making my way over to Appa, softly petting his nose as he closed his eyes slowly, leaning into the touch.

“Hey buddy, mind if I bunk with you tonight?” I mumbled gently to him. He gave me a short grunt, nuzzling his face against my whole body as my smile only widened.

“Seems like you won’t mind too much.” I walked over to his legs, climbing up on them and making myself comfortable in all his long, fluffy fur. 

“Goodnight, everyone.” Katara yawned before settling into her sleeping bag. Everyone replied with a ‘goodnight’ of their own before going to sleep.

I placed my head against the giant bison's side, a contented smile still plastered on my lips as sleep slowly enveloped me into its warm darkness.


	2. Avatar Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a bit longer than the introduction and all the chapters from now on will be as i'm basing them off of the actual episodes, which is why i have named them accordingly to the episodes where they take place.  
> updates are probably going to be pretty irregular as i don't have a set schedule since i need to actually focus on schoolwork since i'm just a simple, swedish teenager.  
> (comments are greatly appreciated!!)

It was a calm and peaceful morning. Smoke was slowly rising from the dead campfire, and birds could be heard chirping around us as I slowly woke up on Appa’s soft fur, looking around the clearing with blurry eyes as I was still half asleep.

Well, at least it was peaceful until Momo stuck his paw into Sokka's mouth for some reason and Sokka woke up, shouting at the small fuzzy creature.

Shooting up, startled by the sudden loud noise, I looked at everyone as they all started to wake up. Aang letting out a small yawn as he woke up on another one of Appa’s legs, while Katara rose from her sleeping bag.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, loud thuds could be heard hitting the ground repeatedly and a giant creature with horns on its face and a rider dressed in black and red on its back jumped out of the bushes.

More and more of these riders appeared and soon we were surrounded by four of them, while a fifth one stood on a cliff. I sprung to my feet quickly as one of them started to speak.

“Give up!” he shouted. “You are completely surrounded!” 

One of them ran around us, aiming arrows that had been set ablaze at us while Sokka was hurriedly trying to crawl over to Appa in his sleeping bag. He crawled out of the bag just in time as the arrows hit it, shouting ‘come on!’ repeatedly while he and Katara ran over to jump up on Appa.

I was already sitting in the saddle, helping Sokka get up when Katara stopped, turning around. “My scrolls!” she shouted, looking at the box she had left on a tree trunk. “My staff!” Aang shouted, in the very same manner as he quickly jumped from Appa’s head to go get it.

“Are they always like this?” I asked Sokka, voice wavering slightly as I was still trying to get over the shock of being ambushed. “Yeah, pretty much.” he panted, clutching his stomach.

I could hear Katara making her way back over to us when suddenly, a tree falling could be heard and not so long after, a small explosion. Aang was quickly making his way back over to us with his staff, jumping onto Appa and quickly taking the reins attached to his horns.

“Yip yip!” he yelled, pulling on the reins as Appa took off. Eyes widening in shock, I quickly grabbed onto Katara, who was the closest person, not being used to flying. She calmly wrapped an arm around my waist and let me cling onto her like a startled fire ferret.

“That’s something I’m gonna have to get used to, isn’t it.” I muttered and Katara chuckled kindly as she nodded.

Suddenly, fire was aimed at us and we all ducked quickly, looking back down towards our attackers. Suddenly Sokka gasped and pointed back towards the ground. “Wait! My boomerang!” he shouted.

“There’s no time!” Katara yelled and Sokka looked at her, slightly irritated.”Oh, I see, so there’s time to get _your_ scrolls and time to get _your_ staff, but not enough time for _my_ boomerang?!” he seemed pretty annoyed now.

“That’s correct.” Katara smiled at him. He muttered something at her and turned away, whispering something under his breath, while I still clung to Katara like she was a lifeline.

“Hey, Liv, it’s okay. You can let go of me now.” she let her arm that had been around my waist fall from me and I took that as my queue to give her some personal space as I let my arms slide off of her. 

I quietly shuffled a little bit away from her and sat up to stretch to my full length for the first time around them, making her eyes widen in shock. I just looked at her while her mouth hung slightly agape and she stared at me.

“What?” I asked, slightly uncomfortable with her staring.

“How old are you?” she asked suddenly. Blinking twice in surprise, as that wasn’t a question I was expecting I just muttered out a ‘huh?’, looking back at her.

“How old are you?” she repeated. Looking at her for a few seconds, the question finally registered in my head. “Oh, I’m fourteen.” I mumbled. Her eyes only widened more, which I thought was impossible, and she started looking between me and Sokka, who was leaning sadly over the edge of the saddle, looking in the direction of his dear boomerang.

“You’re fourteen?” she asked. I just nodded, getting slightly uncomfortable with how this conversation was going. “No way. No way, you’re fourteen, the same age as me, and you’re an entire head taller than Sokka, who’s two years older than both of us?!” she almost yelled in an excited manner. This caused Sokka to turn around and look at us, his eyes widening just as much as Katara’s.

Frowning deeply I start bringing my legs back up to my chest to make myself seem smaller, lowering my head to rest on my knees. 

“I guess.” I mutter, both of them still staring at me as if I was some weird spirit creature.

“That’s pretty cool!” I can hear Aang cheer from his place on Appa’s head, which made me smile a little, letting my long legs stretch back out again.

Katara’s wide mouth had changed into a toothy grin while Sokka was pouting with his arms crossed over his chest. “Looks like you’re not the tallest anymore, Sokka.” Katara teased, her grin turning into a smirk while her brother huffed and looked back over the saddle.

“Whatever, it’s not that big of a deal.” he muttered angrily. It did seem like a pretty big deal to him and it caused a small chuckle to escape me.

* * *

Apparently, wherever we had landed, there was a festival called the ‘Avatar Day’, and now, we were standing in a giant crowd of people in a town, with Aang wearing a hat to cover his arrow.

Katara had been nice enough to get me some new clothes, so I was no longer wearing my old, tattered red clothes, but instead a nice, tan puffy dress shirt, tucked into a pair of black, soft pants that ended mid-thigh with brown boots similar to the ones Sokka wore and fingerless gloves reaching my elbows in the same color as the boots.

“There’s a holiday for the Avatar, who knew!” Aang said happily. I looked around at all the people surrounding us, tugging on my gloves as my lips were drawn into a tight line before I could hear Katara.

“Look! They made a giant Kyoshi float!” she pointed towards the giant Kyoshi that was moving past the crowds, and we all started running towards the big event to see what was going on. 

Finding a spot by a few other people, me making sure to avoid eye contact with any of the villagers, we came just in time to see the next Avatar being rolled in. 

“And here comes Avatar Roku.” Sokka pointed while a giant Roku was pulled up next to Kyoshi. 

Looking at the big floats, my eyes widened slightly in awe, they were incredibly detailed and were absolutely massive. I couldn’t take my eyes off of them.

“Having a huge festival in your honor is great,” I could hear Aang start talking and turned to look at him. “But frankly, it’s just nice to be appreciated.” he smiled warmly at Katara. My attention was drawn back towards the floats while Sokka mentioned something about food before biting down on something. My eyes widened slightly when suddenly the next float started to appear. It was a version of Aang.

"Aang, look!" Katara grabbed him by the shoulder to pull him closer to her while his face lit up in awe. "That has to be the biggest me I've ever seen." he smiled. 

Still looking at the giant floats in awe, I barely register what’s happening until they’re all on fire, a young man is roaring in triumph along with the crowd all shouting ‘down with the Avatar’ repeatedly. Katara gasps and rushes forward, bending water at the burning Avatars to put out the fire. I blink in confusion as tons of different scenes happen before me, finally springing into action to go defend Aang.

“Aang would never kill anyone!” Katara exclaims as I finally reach them. One of the villagers points at them. “Well he has in a past life! Avatar Kyoshi killed Chin The Great! Who everyone loved, because he was so great!” 

_Okay, that doesn’t seem biased or sus at all._ I think to myself as I give my own remark. “Was he really that great if someone wanted to kill him?” I ask. Sokka gives a quiet snort while Katara hits me in the arm with the back of her hand, glaring at me. I just shrug. 

The citizen looks like he’s about to chew my head off before making eye contact with me, and he just gasps, pointing at me with wide and scared eyes. I look at Sokka, who seems just as confused as me before his shrill voice yells. “Your eyes! You’re Fire Nation!” _shit._ I look at Katara for help but she looks just as shocked as me. Taking a few, cautious steps back I look around at the rest of the villagers whose faces are contorted into a mixture of fear and disgust.

“Arrest her!” the same man yells, three guards slowly making their way over to me. I look at Aang with a helpless expression and he motions hurriedly with a tilt of his head for me to leave, so I do. Very quickly. 

I sprint down streets and alleys as quickly as I can, the three burly guards chasing me the entire time. I look in every direction, hoping for a way out and think of the irony about this whole situation. _Who thought I would be chased twice within the span of forty-eight hours._ It’s almost enough to make me laugh. Almost. _Well, at least I can’t feel pebbles burrowing their way into my heels this time._

I see a few stray boxes and hope for the best as I climb up on top of them, kicking over the ones behind me, making my way up onto a roof to keep running. I can hear the guards behind me howl in anger as two of them continue to chase me from the ground while the third tries to make his way up onto the roof to go after me.

I look the leading one in the eyes and smirk as I send a wink his way, jumping on top of another rooftop to continue sprinting. I can hear him shouting angrily at me, yelling curses and other words I don’t understand and see the third guard scrambling to keep his footing on the roof behind me, and I finally let out a bark of laughter.

 _Damn, who thought it would ever feel this good to be chased again._ I let a smile slip onto my face. 

I notice a stray alley with a crack in the wall, big enough for me to fit and I let myself slide off the roof, gracefully landing on the ground with almost little to no sound, slipping into the hole. 

After a few seconds, I see the third guard who had followed me up onto the roof try to follow my lead onto the ground, but he slips at the edge of the rooftop, letting out a loud shriek and falls flat on his face with a loud thud. I quickly cover my mouth with my hand to muffle my laughter, tears brimming in the corners of my eyes.

He looks around, startled, and quickly stands up, brushing the dust off of his clothing. I shuffle into the corner, making sure to stay quiet as I observe the situation playing out before me. 

The other two guards emerge from the edge of the small street and the third one’s face is covered by a furious blush as he covers up his embarrassment with a cough.

“I saw her going this way and followed her, but it seems she disappeared into thin air.” he mutters, I grin. “Well she can’t have just disappeared. Maybe she had time to run out of here before you fell.” the leading one grunts as the third ones blush only darkens. 

Eventually they all come to an agreement that I must have sprinted off and leave. I stay in my spot for a while, before cautiously making my way out of there. 

The sky was painted in beautiful reds and oranges, the sun’s rays softly hitting the buildings, illuminating them with a golden glow as I tried to find my way back to the others, keeping to the walls and shadows as much as I could.

Eventually I can hear Katara and Sokka, yelling my name, wandering the streets without second thought. I quickly and very quietly make my way over to them, finding them in the same alley that I had previously been hiding in. I can see Sokka taking a deep breath, preparing to yell for me again but I quickly run up to him, slapping my hand over his mouth. He yelps against it but relaxes once he sees me.

“Are you trying to get me arrested?!” I hiss at him, letting my hand drop from his mouth. Katara jogs up to us, worry in her eyes.

“Aang got himself landed in jail!” she exclaims before I can tell her to keep quiet. My eyes widen and I gape at her. Blinking suddenly, I look at Sokka for confirmation who just nods.

“How in the everliving fuck did he do that?” Katara winces slightly at my sharp response and Sokka jumps in before she can scold me for my crude language. 

“He said he would take any punishment they gave him, or pay bail, and well,” he gestures wildly with his hands as he talks. “They didn’t take Water Tribe money, so now he’s in jail, waiting for them to choose a punishment for him tomorrow.” he finishes. _Spirits, help us._ I think to myself as I look at him, completely dumbfounded. 

When the situation finally registers in my mind, I lean back, letting out a loud groan. “How can someone who’s so smart be so stupid?” I mutter to myself. “You could ask Sokka the same question.” Katara looks at her older brother who lets out an offended huff. 

Suddenly, unfamiliar voices could be heard and I shove Sokka and Katara behind some boxes while I scramble back to the same hole I had been hiding in earlier. Watching two guards walk by, I shrink further into my spot and narrow my eyes. 

Once they had left, I shuffle back out towards Sokka and Katara who were still crouching behind the boxes. “Okay, do you guys have a plan on what to do to get him out of there? Me breaking him out would be too risky.” I ask. 

“We were planning on going to Kyoshi Island to get proof of Avatar Kyoshi’s innocence.” Katara explains. “You coming with us?” 

I shook my head. “It’s safer for me to stay here, hidden, until you guys have resolved all of this. I’ll go talk to Aang while you two are gone.” _And nothing we do will prove his innocence, we just need to get him out._ They nod in understanding.

“Mind showing me where he’s being held? I didn’t get that much time looking at my surroundings while I was running for my life.” I smirk. Sokka excitedly makes his way over to me, saying that he’ll show me the way, quickly whisking me away from Katara who just shakes her head.

We walk in silence for a few minutes, making sure to avoid any people passing by as the prison gets nearer and nearer. 

“How’d you do that?” Sokka asks suddenly and I hum. “Gonna have to be a bit more specific.” I answer. “How did you get away from those guards? There were three of them!” I look at him with a small smile tugging at my lips.

“Sokka, my dear Sokka, I have been on the run for years. Did you really think that was my first time escaping from official guards?” I chuckle. He just gapes at me and I smile at him.

Eventually we make it to where Aang is being held and I politely bid Sokka goodbye, carefully slipping into the building. It’s nightfall at this point and the dark blue sky is only illuminated by the stars and the moon, making it hard to see inside of the building. I look around carefully, noting that no one’s around and carefully bring out my palm, letting a small, orange flame seep its way from my palm.

Carefully holding out the small, warm flame in front of me, I creep along the walls until I can see a giant circle with bars through it, kind of resembling a window. Seeing as the moon is shining right above it, I let the small flame die out, sneaking my way over to the circle.

“Hey, Aang.” I sort of whisper yell. No response. I look through the bars at the sleeping figures inside, looking past loads of giant, muscular and scarred men, finally finding what I was looking for. There he is, out of his bounds, using it to help keep his posture up as he sleeps. 

_So sweet._ I think to myself, smiling. I crouch down to pick up a small rock. _And so vulnerable._ My smile turns into a smirk as I aim the rock for Aang’s head, hitting him on his forehead. _Bullseye._ I snicker to myself while Aang wakes up with a yelp, groaning out in pain as he rubs his forehead.

“Hey! Airhead!” I whisper yell again, making him look over at me, eyes widening in surprise. He swiftly jogs over to me, resting his hands on the metal bars. “Liv? What are you doing here? How did you get away from those guards?” he asks. 

“A girl has her ways.” I grin mischievously. “Anyways, what the fuck were you thinking by letting yourself get arrested?!” my grin turns into a scowl as Aang just looks away, a small blush covering his cheeks. I look at him for a few minutes before he coughs awkwardly, looking back to me. He opens and closes his mouth repeatedly, seeming lost for words.

“Look, if you help me, we might be able to break you out of here, but-” he doesn’t let me finish the sentence, quickly jumping in. “No. No, I’m not gonna escape, I’m going to prove my innocence and Katara and Sokka will help me.” he gives me a stern expression while I cock my head to the side. I shake my head, chuckling humorlessly.

“Aang, these systems are corrupt. Nothing you do will prove your innocence to these people, they’re clearly biased.” I explain. “They absolutely adore this Chin guy, nothing will prove to them that he was in the wrong or that Kyoshi didn’t kill him. Not even if the evidence was shoved into their faces.” his face falls a little at my words and I sigh sympathetically. 

“We need to get you out of here before the sun rises, we can come up with something to get you out, I promise.” I place a hand on his shoulder softly. He shrugs it off and gives me a stern look. “No, I’m proving mine and Kyoshi’s innocence, whether you like it or not.” he says it a little too loud for my liking, and I freeze as one of the guys in the cell with Aang startles awake.

Aang’s eyes widen in terror and he ushers me to leave, which I promptly do, creeping along the stone walls to find my way back out. 

I slip out of the building from the same spot I entered, letting out a sigh of relief as the crisp night air hits me. Walking through the empty streets, I find a small bakery stand with a few leftover baked goods and snatch one, biting down on the soft bread as I try to find a place to stay the night. 

I eventually find one and settle down, slipping into some much needed sleep so I can go to Aang’s trial tomorrow.

* * *

The entire trial was a disaster. As expected. And Kyoshi’s spirit actually showing up to flat out admit to killing Chin the Conqueror wasn’t really an added bonus on our part. Carefully slipping through the crowd towards Katara and Sokka, who were in the very front, I pulled the hood of a cloak I had found lying around tightly around me to cover up my face.

Finally reaching them, I tap Katara gently on the shoulder and she spins around, looking absolutely furious before she sees it’s me and she grabs tightly onto my arm, pulling me up next to her. 

The crowd all yell out punishments they want Aang to experience and I shudder at most of them. _They’re gonna do this shit to a literal child?_

“Community service, please stop on community service…” she mutters under her breath as the judge spins the wheel of punishment. Her grip on my arm gradually tightens as the spinning nears its end. And then the wheel finally stops, and I let a heavy angered breath escape me, sending a few small sparks flying out of my mouth.

“Looks like it’s boiled in oil.” the guard next to them mutters in a monotone voice towards the crowd who all scream in excitement. “I need to get him out of there.” I growl to Katara who actually gives me a small nod, starting to let go of my arm.

Suddenly, an explosion goes off and we all go to cover our faces from the rocks flying in every other direction.

“We’ve come to claim this village for The Firelord!” a man yells out. It’s the same people who ambushed us.”Now show me your leader so I may dethrone him.” he growls maliciously as another one destroys the Chin statue. 

“That’s him over there!” one of the villagers yell, pointing to the judge who lets out a squeak of terror, running to hide behind the wheel as he mutters something to Aang who just looks unimpressed. 

“Gee, I’d love to help, but I’m supposed to be boiling in oil right now.” he snarks. I’m almost proud of him for it. 

The judge changes the position of the wheel so the arrow is pointing at community service instead. “There, community service, now serve our community and get rid of those rhino’s!” he squeals. I turn to Katara quickly before the chaos starts. “I’ll help the villagers to safety, you guys go get them." she nods and I run off, ripping off the hood to let me see better. 

The crowd gasps as they see my face and I can see someone mutter something angrily to another person about the guards but I just run up in front of them. “People! Follow me, I’ll lead you away while the Avatar gets rid of your attackers!” I roar. They all look at each other, every once in a while glancing up at me in suspicion until a young boy walks out to speak up.

“Why should we trust you? You’re Fire Nation scum!” he spits out. I frown at him, crouching down to his level while he glares daggers at me and speak as calmly as I can, some semblance of panic still seeping through into my voice. 

“I understand that you must hate me, but is it really worth your own life to be that stubborn?” I ask him, directing the question to all of them. 

Finally, an old lady walks up to me, placing a hand on my shoulder and smiles warmly at me. “Lead the way.” she croaks out. “I’ll make sure they follow.” I nod and start running off away from the village, hearing the old lady yell commands at the villagers behind me.

We reach the outer parts of the village when one of the riders runs up to block our path. He grins down at me, his rhino growling loudly at me. 

I quickly take my bending stance, glaring at him while he just laughs lowly at me, bringing out some kind of weapon from the saddle and pointing it at me. 

“Get them out of here!” I yell back at the old lady who nods and leads the others away. The man's attention leaves me and he prepares to go after them when I fling myself at him, kicking him in the jaw. 

He grunts in pain, glaring at me and grabs my left arm, twisting it behind my back forcefully while I let out a loud shriek. Setting my right hand on fire, I twist in his grip and punch him hard in the throat, making him let go of my arm to caress his throat with his hands. While he’s gasping for air, I kick him out of the saddle, onto the ground and grab the reins of the rhino in my right hand, my left arm hanging limply at my side. 

He finally comes back to his senses, glaring up at me until he sees that I have control of the rhino, scrambling to his feet, running off to the rest of his group. 

I debate going after him until I set my mind to making sure the villagers are okay, twisting the reins in the direction of where they headed off. The animal beneath me grunts as it starts running, it’s feet making loud thumping noises whenever they meet the ground. 

I eventually find them, hiding in a secluded place in the woods with the same old lady keeping an eye on them. I sigh in relief and jump off of the creature, tapping it gently on the shoulder. “Good work, buddy.” I mumble gently to it as it growls, laying down on the ground. 

I make my way over to them, holding my limp arm, clenching my teeth together in pain. “Are you alright, dear?” the lady croaks out, eyes widened slightly in worry. I wave her off and give her a short nod.

“Yes, yes, I’m okay. Is everyone else here okay?” I look around at the large group who all nod in unison and I let out a sigh of relief. I slump down against a tree, groaning out in pain as I accidentally bump my left shoulder into it, making the lady frown.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asks and I bite my lip. “Yes, I’m fine, probably just a dislocated shoulder, nothing to worry about.” I mutter.

We all stay silent for a while, waiting for the fight in the village to subside. I can hear tiny footsteps and look to my side, seeing the young boy approaching me. I look at him in confusion and he rubs his hands together nervously, eyes darting to the side.

He finally reaches me and sits down next to me, still making sure to keep some distance between us. 

“Sorry for what I said.” he mutters, it doesn’t really sound like he means it though. I look over to where he came from and see his mother eagerly watching us and I frown.

“Nothing to apologise for, the Fire Nation truly is scum.” I chuckle and he looks at me in surprise. “There was a reason as to why I left in the first place, you were right to not trust me. And I’m sure you still don’t.” I lean my head back to rest it on the tree behind me, letting my eyes slip shut. I can hear him shuffling on the ground and let a soft smile slip onto my face.

“You don’t have to stay here. Go back to your mother, tell her that I accept her apology.” I mumble out. He grumbles something and quickly runs off to where I can only assume his mother was standing.

Eventually, it started to quiet down by the village and we all made our way back, me bringing the rhino with me. Eventually we reach the village and I see Aang, Sokka and Katara huddled together. Handing over the reins to a young man to my left, I quickly jog up to them. 

Aang sees me first and his face lights up in relief, flinging himself around my neck. “You’re okay!” he cheers and I suck in a breath between clenched teeth in pain as he touches my left shoulder. 

“Yes, I’m fine, now please let go or I’m going to scream.” I hiss out in a hoarse voice. He quickly gets off of me, looking at me with his big worried eyes while Sokka and Katara make their way over to us. 

“Are you hurt?” Katara asks as soon as she reaches us, softly placing a hand on my left shoulder.

“Yes, and it wouldn’t hurt nearly as much if everyone could just stop touching my left shoulder.” I growl. She quickly removes her hand and looks at me with an exasperated expression. Sokka chuckles and I glare at him. “Dislocated shoulder, huh?” he chirps. 

Before I can respond, he’s behind me, already popping it back in place and I want to punch him. 

“OW! What the fuck, Sokka?!” I yell, rolling my sore joints. Katara elbowed me in the ribs, glaring at me and I yelped out in pain while Sokka just laughed at me. “You’re all ganging up on me!” I yell in offense and they all double over in laughter while I pout at them. 

I notice the lead guard from last night angrily stalking towards me and I smirk at him, making his face flash red. “Sorry guys, gotta blast.” I chuckle, sprinting towards the streets and I hear him howl in anger. I can hear the subtle sound of the rest of the gang laughing loudly while I repeat my actions from last night, quickly making my way up onto a roof.

The other two eventually catch onto what’s happening and join in, chasing after me while I run on the rooftops. I eventually run past a small clique of girls that I helped away from the village and they all giggle when they see me running on the roof, their lips curled into smiles behind their hands. I make eye contact with one of them and send a wink along with a blown kiss her way, making her blush and look away while the other girls woo at her.

The guards shove their way through them and I dip behind another building, howling with laughter as they yell at each other.

I meet up with the rest of the gang when it starts nearing night, giggling at Sokka’s complaints about eating raw dough while we load our stuff onto Appa who seems very happy to see Aang again. Eventually we finish packing and settle in the saddle, Appa taking off and soaring peacefully through the sky, and before I know it, I’m dozing off with a content smile on my lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally, some look into liv's true personality, it's fun writing her character.  
> next chapter will be the blind bandit and toph is finally gonna get introduced! as i stated earlier, i don't have a set date for when the chapter will come out but hopefully it will come out sometime within the next week.  
> hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. The Blind Bandit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHE'S HEEEEEEEEEEREEEEEEEE!!!  
> (once again, comments are greatly appreciated!)

_ I’m never going shopping with this guy ever again.  _ I look on in despair as Sokka ponders buying a green bag, not being able to make up his mind. I groan internally and make my way over to some other stands in the market, making sure to let Katara know where I’m going before I leave, making my way through the small crowds of people.

Wandering the small streets aimlessly, looking for nothing in particular, I can smell all different kinds of delicious foods and see all kinds of jewelry and clothing. I spot a few interesting looking necklaces that I look at for a few seconds, before I decide it’s not for me and I’m on my way again.

I spot something shimmering in the corner of my eye and turn around to look at it, my face lighting up slightly as I spot it.  _ Now this is something for me.  _ I smile as I make my way over to the sharp object, picking it up carefully in my gloved hands. I run my index finger carefully along the sharp edge of the small knife, running my nail along the beautiful blood red stone planted on the very top of the wooden handle that was decorated with gorgeous carvings of dragons.

“Found something you like, young one?” I look up to find the owner smiling at me and I nod. “How much does it cost?” I ask, making sure to avoid his gaze, and his smile only widens, making his pearly white beard shift. “Three silver coins and she’s yours.” he winks and I quickly shove my hand into my pocket, producing the three silver coins and handing them over to him. 

He looks them over and then nods, and I’m on my way back to the others, twirling the small weapon in my hands. I make my way back to the stand where I first left them, where Sokka is still trying to decide whether he should get the bag or not and I chuckle.

“Hello mister indecisive.” I cheer and he looks up at me and frowns. “Silence, I’m still trying to figure out if it’s worth it or not…” he mumbles before going back to staring at it.

Katara rolls her eyes before spotting my little purchase and she looks at it with interest. I smile and hand it over to her, letting her examine it. 

“Where did you get this, Liv?” she asks, not letting her gaze wander from the captivating gemstone or dragon carvings and I see Aang looking at it from over her shoulder. “Just found it in some old man's stand.” I shrug and she finally lets her gaze break from the object in her hands.

Putting my hand back out, she hands it back over and I start twirling it carefully again. “Where are you even going to put it?” she asks, smirking and I frown slightly before an idea pops into my head. Carefully aligning the sharp blade with my forearm, I make two cuts about the size of the blade in my glove and carefully slide it in.

“Right there.” I look down at her and she just rolls her eyes playfully at me, swatting my other arm.

“Oh yeah, just go ruining the clothes that I got you, it’s no biggie.” she mutters and I grin. “I didn’t  _ ruin  _ them, I just improved them for her.” I say smugly. “Her?” she questions and I shrug at her again. “Spirits, you’re just like Sokka and his boomerang.” she mutters and I can see Sokka’s head shooting up momentarily at the mention of his name before going back to looking at the green bag again. “You know what, I’m gonna get it.” he says, happily clasping his hands together.

Katara ruffles my hair before walking off to Aang and I catch her muttering something under her breath but can’t make out what she’s saying.

I see someone make his way over to Aang and Katara, holding some kind of papers in his hands, mumbling something to them about earthbending before handing them one of the papers and walking off.

“I think I found an earthbending master who can teach me!” he cheers as I make my way over to them and I smile, throwing an arm around his shoulders, bringing him closer to me. “That’s great! Where can we find him?” I ask. 

“It’s called master Yu’s Earthbending Academy, not so far away from where we are right now.” he says. Sokka makes his way over to us, clutching the green and gold bag tightly against his chest and looks at the paper. He smiles at Aang before nodding and we’re off towards the academy.

Standing lined up against the wall outside the earthbending academy, I can hear rocks being chucked everywhere inside and my hope for the place dies a little more with every passing minute, looking at Katara helplessly.

She looks just as disappointed as me and I almost feel like laughing if I didn’t know the circumstances of Aang needing to learn earthbending. Eventually all the noise dies down and a bunch of kids happily hop out of the building, Aang following close behind with his head hanging low in disappointment. “Eh, he’s not the one.” he mumbles, tilting his head to the side trying to get all the sand out of his ears.

I sigh heavily and walk up to where he’s standing by Katara and Sokka.

“I think The Boulder is gonna win back the belt at Earth Rumble Six.” I can almost hear my neck snap as I quickly turn my head to see two boys around our age leaving the academy. “He’s gonna have to fight his way through the best earthbenders in the world to even get a shot at the champ!” the other one cheers.

I look over at Aang who’s eyes have widened slightly, looking at them with interest. “Excuse me, but where is this earthbending tournament exactly?” he walks up to them, smiling widely. 

“It’s on the island of nunya.” one of them smirks at him. “Nunya business!” they both laugh as they turn to leave and I look at them in disbelief.  _ Yikes, their humor is drier than a desert. _

I see Aang’s shoulders slump slightly in disappointment while they walk off, laughing loudly. 

I look over at Sokka who’s laughing just as loudly, wiping tears from his eyes and I just sigh. “Ooooh, I gotta remember that one.” he grins. Katara goes up to Aang, placing her hands on his upper arms comfortingly. “I’ll take care of this.” she mumbles softly into his ear, before running off towards the two boys. “Hey, strong guys! Wait up!” she yells before disappearing behind the corner of a building.

“What was I thinking,” I turn around to look at Sokka. “I don’t need a new bag! Why did you let me buy this?!” He drops the item on the ground and I watch as Momo jumps off of his shoulders, curling himself up comfortably inside of it.

“You ready to find an earthbending teacher? Because we’re going to Earth Rumble Six!” Katara jogs back up to us. “How’d you get them to tell you?” Aang asks as Sokka picks the bag back up from the ground, seemingly unbothered. “Oh, a girl has her ways.” Katara says sweetly and I grin devilishly at her. 

Walking up to her, I lean down to whisper in her ear. “Did you freeze them in order to get them to tell you?” I ask and if I wasn’t convinced before, the wide smirk on her face was a pretty obvious answer.

* * *

Walking into the large arena, Aang leads us to the very front and I quickly think of how many things could go wrong simply by standing there. 

“Hey! Front row seats! Wonder why no one else is here.” he chirps, and just as he does, a giant rock is thrown our way and lands right next to Sokka who recoils quickly. “I think that’s why.” he grumbles. 

Looking out on the platform, a man with long, sleek black hair is showing off his earthbending before finally settling for a dramatic pose, announcing the crowd. “Welcome to Earth Rumble Six!” he booms. “I am your host, Xin Fu!” I sit down next to Katara on her left and she sighs.

“This is just going to be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other, isn’t it.” she mutters to which Sokka replies “That’s what I paid for.” with a toothy grin and I chuckle. “Probably, but hey, you might get a good show.” I elbow her playfully and her face flushes a little before she retorts back.

“What about you then? No show for you?” she smirks and I shake my head. “Nah, I’m not really into guys.” I answer honestly, looking back out at the platform while Katara’s eyes widen slightly.

“You don’t like men?” she asks to which I respond with a simple ‘nope’, a small smile finding its way onto her face. “I’m happy for you.” she mumbles honestly, placing a hand on my upper arm while I give her a warm smile of my own. 

“The rules are simple,” my attention is drawn back to the platform. “Just knock the other guy out of the ring and you win!” the crowd cheers as Xin Fu makes his way off the platform using earthbending. 

A loud banging noise can be heard and the first two competitors are introduced. “First up, The Boulder versus the big, bad, Hippo!” Xin Fu’s voice can be heard over the entire building as the two champions walk out on the platform. 

“Listen, Hippo, you may be big, but you ain’t bad. The Boulder’s gonna win this in a landslide.” The Boulder taunts the Hippo. “Hippo, mad!” the Hippo growls, stomping his foot onto the ground.

The Boulder quickly bends up a bunch of rocks, chucking them at the Hippo who barely has any reaction and I quickly grow disinterested. “Yeah, you were right.” I mumble to Katara who nods. I carefully bring out my knife, toying with it while the earthbenders battle in the background. I can hear Sokka cheering loudly for The Boulder and I snort at his antics.

My attention is brought back to the platform as the Hippo is thrown off by The Boulder and Xin Fu’s booming voice returns, announcing his victory.

“How about The Boulder, he seems to have some good moves.” Katara says to Aang who scrunches up his nose slightly. “I don’t know, Bumi said I needed a teacher who listens to the earth, he’s just listening to his big muscles.” Aang looks off sheepishly to the side. “What do you think Sokka?” he turns to look at him but he doesn’t seem to notice, he’s too busy cheering.

“Next match!” I look back to the platform. “The Boulder versus Fire Nation man!” Xin Fu announces and the crowd along with Sokka boo loudly as a short man walks onto the platform with a Fire Nation flag. I scoff and roll my eyes while he supposedly sings the ‘Fire Nation national anthem’ in honor of The Fire Lord and barely care when he’s easily thrown off the platform by The Boulder, landing face first into the giant rock next to Sokka.

I don’t look up onto the platform as The Boulder wins fight after fight, too busy studying the carvings on my knife until I hear Xin Fuʼs voice go lower as anticipation runs through the crowd. “And now, the moment you have all been waiting for…” my attention is drawn back to the platform for the first time in a while as I watch the light around us dim, focusing on the platform. “The Boulder versus, the grand champion, The Blind Bandit!” 

My eyes widen as she’s revealed, a young girl holding a giant gold and green belt, barely reaching the women next to her up to their torsos. 

“She can’t really be blind.” I hear Katara next to me. “It’s just part of her character, right?” I try to focus on her face but it’s covered by her black bangs.

“I think she is.” I can hear Aang saying to Katara before Sokka jumps in with his own comment. “Well I think she’s going down!” he yells, clearly wanting The Boulder to win. Putting my knife back into the hole I made in my glove, focusing on the stage. 

_ This is probably going to be the most interesting fight tonight.  _ I think to myself, a ruthless smile covering my face at the thought of the big bad Boulder being sent flying off the platform by a young girl.  _ She’s gotta be the grand champion for a reason.  _

Resting my head in my palms, I watch the events unfold before me intently, a smirk visible on my face.

“The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young, blind girl.” he looks at her uncertainly, gesturing wildly with his hands as he talks. “Sounds to me like you’re scared, Boulder!” she taunts him, pointing at him and my smirk grows back into that devilish grin.  _ Oh, this is gonna be good. _

The Boulder pouts at her before answering. “The Boulder is over his conflicting feelings, and is ready to bury you in a rockalanche!” he threatens. The girl seems completely unbothered, opting to taunt him again. “Whenever you’re ready, The Pebble.” she ends her sentence with a mocking laugh at him. 

I chuckle quietly and watch as The Boulder grows more and more frustrated with her. “It’s on!” he yells and goes to launch himself towards her when she makes a subtle sweeping motion with one of her feet, making rocks move their way over towards him, catching his left foot just as he plants it on the ground and separating his legs until he’s doing the splits.

He howls out in pain and my hand flies to my mouth to cover up my laughter, Sokka looks absolutely devastated. She makes another quick motion with one of her hands and three pillars of earth are sent his way, sending him flying out of the ring with a shriek at the contact.

“Your winner, and still the champion, The Blind Bandit!” Xin Fu’s voice returns and I see her grinning widely, extending her arms in the air while the crowd cheers for her. I throw in some cheers of my own before looking over at Sokka who looks like he’s about to cry, and I can’t help the laughter that escapes my mouth at his reaction.

“How did she do that?” I hear Katara mutter, completely in awe, Aang smiling happily next to her. “She waited, and listened.” he replies. 

My attention is once again drawn back to the platform as Xin Fu hops down onto it, walking up next to The Blind Bandit, holding a sack of gold in his hand. “To make things a little more interesting, I’m offering this sack of gold to anyone who can defeat The Blind Bandit!” he yells out to the arena, to which he is met with complete silence.  _ Understandable. _

“What? No one dares to face her?” he almost sounds disappointed, had I not known better. “I will!” I look down to the platform where Aang is strutting happily up the stairs and look at Katara in mild horror. “Can he really do that? Isn’t he an airbender?” I whisper to her and she shrugs. “Go Aang! Avenge The Boulder!” I hear Sokka yell and roll my eyes, settling back in my seat.

“Do people really want to see  _ two  _ little girls fighting out here?” she snarks at him and my hand goes back to my mouth as I hear a collective ‘oooh’ from the crowd.  _ Damn, girl’s brutal.  _ I smile to myself. “I don’t really want to fight you, I just wanted to talk to you.” he gestures calmly. 

“Boo! No talking!” Sokka yells which promptly causes Katara to swat at his arm, scolding him. 

Aang goes to take a step towards her, which causes her to quickly try and knock him off the platform, but he just calmly drifts away from her attack using his airbending. She turns her head and body in every other direction, fully on attack mode and immediately stiffens when he touches the ground again.

“What’s your fighting name? ‘The Fancy Dancer’?” she spits out. Aang just shrugs with a grin before another pillar of earth shoots up underneath him, causing him to twirl midair. “Where’d you go…” she mutters to herself. “Please, just wait.” he lands back on the ground and she stiffens again.

“There you are!” she sends a giant boulder his way that he sends right back using his airbending, hitting her in the process and causing her to fly off the platform with a yelp. I frown, looking at the spot where she landed.  _ Okay, that wasn’t really fair considering this is an earthbending tournament.  _ I think to myself as everyone else's eyes widen in shock, their jaws slack.

I look over at Sokka and Katara who have wide, open mouthed smiles on their faces and shake my head as the crowd starts cheering. Aang quickly sprints towards the stairs of the platform. “Please, listen! I need an earthbending teacher and I think it’s supposed to be you!” he yells after her as she angrily stomps off towards a wall. “Whoever you are, just leave me alone.” she growls at him, bending a hole in the wall and disappearing into it.

Katara tugs slightly on my sleeve, making me stand up and follow them up onto the platform where Sokka quickly runs up to envelop Xin Fu in a warm hug before collecting the prize, giving Aang a side-hug. “Way to go, champ!” he grins at him, but Aang just looks devastated. 

* * *

“You know, now I’m really glad I bought this bag.” Sokka smiles at us. “It matches the belt perfectly.” he holds up both items and I shake my head in exasperation. “That is a big relief.” Katara retorts.

“If we want to find The Blind Bandit, the earthbending academy is a good place to start.” Aang jumps in before they can start arguing, and I see the building tower over us as we reach it.

Walking in through the entrance, the two boys from yesterday are there, punching sand. They look up at us and their expressions quickly turn sour as they recognise us. “Oh great, it’s you again.” one of them grumble at us and Katara sends a withering glare his way, causing him to recoil with a squeak. “Yeah, didn’t think so.” she growls at them and I smirk.

“Nicely done.” Sokka muses. Their gaze suddenly shifts to Aang and their expressions grow into a mix of awe and anger. “Hey, you’re the kid who beat The Blind Bandit.” they walk up to him and I immediately tense up, causing Sokka to wrap his hand around my forearm to keep me in place. 

“We need to talk to her,” Aang starts. “Do you guys know where she lives?” he asks hopefully. “The Blind Bandit is a mystery, she shows up to fight, and then disappears.” one of them say dramatically and I frown. Aang’s shoulders slump and Katara places her hand soothingly on Aangs them. “I’ll handle this.” she murmurs before turning to glare at them again.

“You’re not telling us everything.” she growls, walking up to them and pointing an accusing finger at them, causing them to raise their hands in surrender. “No no, I swear it’s true, no one knows where she goes, or who she is.” he pleads. “That’s because we’re asking for the wrong person.” I turn to look at Aang in confusion, who’s smiling to himself.

“In my vision I saw a girl in a white dress, with a pet flying boar.” he looks at them again. “Know anybody like that?” they glance at each other before one of them answers again.

“Well, a flying boar is the symbol of the Beifong family, they’re the richest people in town.” he looks back to Aang. “Probably the whole world.” he says nonchalantly while the other pops up from behind him. “Yeah, but they don’t have a daughter.”

“Flying boar is good enough for me, let’s check it out.” Aang gestures while Sokka let’s go of my arm and I quickly make my way out of the building. 

We eventually make it to a huge mansion, surrounded by a low wall with a flying boar symbol by the entrance with guards up front and Aang seems certain that this is the right place. We sneak over to one of the walls and I quickly scale it, hopping over on the other side and landing with little to no sound and watch as Aang lands gracefully with his airbending and Sokka falls over the edge, causing me to snort.

We help Katara down and sneak our way over behind some bushes to check out what’s happening before I feel a rumble beneath my feet and suddenly we’re all in the air. 

I let out a loud yelp and see that my body is aimed for a bush along with Katara and try to twist myself onto my back. Landing on the soft leaves with a loud bustling, I look off to the side to see Sokka, the poor guy, hitting the solid ground, hard.

Looking over towards Aang, I can see the girl walking up to him and my eyes widen almost comically. “What are you doing here, Twinkletoes?” she grunts at him. “How’d you know it was me?” he asks, looking at her in slight awe.

“Don't answer to Twinkletoes, it’s not manly!” Sokka yelps and I roll my eyes at him. “You’re the one whose bag matches his belt.” Katara retorts.

“How did you find me?” The Bandit asks and my attention is brought back to her, looking between her and Aang. “Well, a crazy king told me I had to find an earthbender who listens to the earth,” Aang starts, making his way off of the bush and I follow suit, brushing off a few stray leaves from my shoulders. “And then I had a vision in a magic swamp, and-” we all notice the clear confusion on her face and Katara jumps in quickly. 

“What Aang is trying to say is, he’s the Avatar, and if he doesn’t master earthbending soon he won’t be able to defeat The Firelord.” Katara explains. “Not my problem,” she shoves her hand into Katara’s face. “Now get out of here, or I’ll call the guards.” she mutters.

“Look we all have to play our part to end this war, and yours is to teach Aang earthbending.” Sokka says desperately. She turns around and before she even opens her mouth, I know what’s about to happen, already bolting away from the scene as I hear her calling for the guards.

The others follow suit, and soon we’re back to hiding, watching as two of the guards run up to her. “Toph! What happened?” the first one asks in a worried tone as he reaches her.

“I thought I heard someone. I got scared.” she says in a helpless voice, causing me to quirk an eyebrow.  _ Didn’t this girl take down a whole-ass grown man by herself?  _ I think to myself as I watch her being taken away by the guards who mutter something about her father not wanting her to be outside alone.

I look up towards Aang who’s on the roof and see his toothy grin before he disappears behind it, causing me to look at Sokka in confusion who just shrugs back at me.

A few minutes later, we suddenly find ourselves inside of the Beifong mansion, having dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Beifong, and I’m suddenly very insecure about the scars that run over the right part of my lips and underneath my left eye.

I poke at my food, looking around at everyone else at the table while Sokka devours his meal. One of the servants set a bowl in front of Toph and I can see steam coming off of it. “Blow on it,” I turn to look at her father. “It’s too hot for her.” I blink owlishly at him. 

“Allow me.” Aang sends a small gust of air in the direction of her food and suddenly the steam is gone and the adults give him a slow applause with a few compliments thrown in.

“Avatar Aang, it’s an honor to have you visit us.” Mrs. Beifong says as she picks up her own food. “In your opinion, how long do you think the war will last?” Mr. Beifong asks and I’m back to staring at my food, avoiding eye contact with them.

“I’d like to defeat The Firelord by the end of summer,” he starts. “But I can’t do that without finding an earthbending teacher first.” he says smugly, directing his reply towards Toph who seems unbothered at his statement.

“Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land. He’s been teaching Toph since she was little.” Mr. Beifong replies with a calm voice and I look up to see Master Yu smugly cleaning his face with a napkin.

“Then she must be a good earthbender,” Aang directs his answer to Toph again. “Probably good enough to teach someone elsaAH-” I look up at him in confusion as he lets out a pained yelp, glaring at Toph. I look over to see her innocently eating her food and I suddenly have the urge to smirk.

“Toph is still learning the basics.” Master Yu responds coolly. “Yes, and sadly because of her blindness, I don’t think she’ll ever become a true master.” her father responds.

We all look at each other in dismay before Aang pipes in again. “Oh, I’m sure she’s better than you think she i-” another yelp escapes his mouth as his chair is dragged forward and his face plummets right into his soup. I have to bite hard into my lower lip to keep myself from laughing and I see Katara and Sokka glancing at each other.

Everyone looks at each other in confusion and I watch Toph, once again, innocently bite onto her food. 

Aang has a clearly annoyed look on his face as he tries to wipe the soup off of himself with his hands before his lips curl into a smirk. I watch as he takes in a deep breath, before letting it all out into a giant sneeze that has the foods on the table all flying in the direction of the Beifong’s and Master Yu, splattering all over them.

“What’s your problem?!” Toph yells in annoyance, slamming her hands down on the table. “What’s  _ your  _ problem?!” Aang shouts back. I look helplessly between them and catch a glance of Sokka and Katara who both look done with their antics.

“Well, shall we move to the living room for dessert then?” Mrs. Beifong asks, wiping away the remnants of the food on her face, seemingly unbothered and I let out a heavy sigh.  _ Rich people. _

About an hour later, I find myself comfortable on one of the guest beds, curled up in a blanket as Aang pets Appa on the nose, mumbling to him. I hear the small clatter of footsteps and look up to see Toph approaching, coming to a stop in the doorway.

Aang turns around to spot her, and yells, going into a defensive position. “Relax.” she mutters at him. “Look, I’m sorry about dinner, let’s call a truce, okay?” her posture hasn’t moved one bit as she speaks, leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed. 

Aang slowly relaxes his body, looking at her in confusion and I drop my head back onto the pillow, pulling the blanket tighter around myself as I hear them leave.

* * *

“Whoever took Aang and Toph left this.” Sokka hands over the scroll attached to the knife to Katara. I run a hand through my hair and take deep breaths trying to calm myself.  _ Of course, we leave them for five fucking minutes, and they get kidnapped.  _ I groan in frustration as Katara starts reading it. 

“If you want to see your daughter again, bring five hundred gold pieces to the arena.” she reads. “It’s signed Xin Fu and The Boulder.” I bring my hands up to slowly massage my temples, my head reeling with thoughts of what’s going to happen.

“I can’t believe it.” Sokka mumbles quietly to Katara. “I have The Boulders autograph!” he snatches the paper out of her hands and gets down on his knees, holding up the piece of paper as if it was holy and I glare at him.

“Master Yu, I need you to help me get my daughter back.” Mr. Beifong says, a slight tremor in his voice. “We’re going with you.” Katara glances back at him and I nod.

Mrs. Beifong walks over to the two indents in the ground, where they must have been captured, and falls to her knees. Hands clasped together at her chest. “Poor Toph.” she sobs. “She must be so scared…” 

_ I doubt that.  _ I walk over to her, kneeling beside her, rubbing soothing circles into her back. “We’re going to get them back, don’t worry.” I mumble to her and she nods. 

Walking into the arena, I can hear Toph taunting their captors and I smile slightly to myself.  _ Just as I thought.  _ We walk out onto the platform, Sokka holding the sack of gold as we finally scale the stairs. 

“Toph!” Mr. Beifong calls out to his daughter and Xin Fu along with the other Earth Rumble competitors look back at us with glares. “Here’s your money.” Sokka growls at them. “Now let them go.”

He throws the sack onto the ground and Mr. Beifong earthbends it over to Xin Fu, who picks it up, looking inside it for a split second before waving his hand, and Toph’s compartment is lowered to the ground, opening up at the bottom, sending the young girl sprawling onto the ground before she hurriedly runs back over to us.

“What about Aang?” Katara shoots at them as the Beifongs and Master Yu make their exit. “I think The Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for the Avatar. Now, get. Out. Of. My. Ring.” Xin Fu snarls at us and I stiffen immediately as all the Earth Rumble competitors make their entrances to keep us away.

“Go, I’ll be okay.” Aang waves us off and I reach for my knife as we slowly start backing off the platform. Still keeping my eyes locked on the platform, I barely notice when Katara calls for Toph’s help until her father snaps at us.

“My daughter is blind. She is blind, and tiny and helpless and fragile!” he tightens his grip on her hand. “She cannot help you!”

Toph snatches her hand out of his grasp. “Yes, I can.” she mutters coolly, making her way over to us while her father looks at her in disbelief.

We all make our way back up to the platform where they’re about to leave before Toph blocks their way. “Let him go.” she says fiercely. “I’ve beat you all before and I’ll do it again!”

“The Boulder takes issue with that comment.” he points at us and the Hippo growls as he throws Aang’s compartment away roughly, grunts coming from inside as it hits the ground repeatedly. They all start running towards us and we all get into our positions before Toph stops us.

“Wait!” the sound of their feet hitting the ground repeatedly could be heard from a mile away and she turns back towards us. “They’re mine.” she mutters and sends them all flying backwards with her bending, creating a huge cloud of dust and I quickly make my way over to Aang.

Katara and Sokka follow and soon the sound of one of the Rumblers getting chucked off the platform echoes through the entire arena. Sokka is banging on the lock with a rock while Katara tries to pull open the bottom of the compartment. 

“Hit it harder!” Aang yells to which Sokka replies with an agitated ‘I’m trying!’. I eventually settle for trying to help Sokka break the lock, heating it up with my palms and watching it glow an angry red. 

Two more people are sent flying off the platform until the lock finally breaks and the compartment opens at the bottom and Aang almost flies out of there, in his fighting stance and Sokka merily shakes his head, pointing towards where Toph is easily winning her battle.

Watching as three more Rumblers are all sent flying off I finally let a huge grin make its way onto my face. She easily makes the dust cloud disappear, revealing Xin Fu standing on the opposite end.

He cracks his neck and gets into a fighting stance, to which Toph simply spits on the ground, getting into her own fighting stance as they circle around the center of the platform. 

He quickly bends up loads of rocks, sending them all in her direction with a clear intention to knock her off the platform. She quickly bends up a cover, sending one of them towards him that he easily dodges, putting his hand into the ground. 

He sends another rock at her, aiming for her face, that she also dodges easily as he goes back to have his hand shoved into the ground. She quickly sends her own attack right back at him, causing him to get chucked off the platform like a ragdoll, landing between Mr. Beifong and Master Yu before limply falling onto the ground.

Sokka starts to faint and I quickly catch him before he can hit the ground for the hundredth time today, looping his arm around my shoulders and dragging him over to where Aang and Katara are already running up to Toph.

_ She’s amazing.  _ I grin and look up to the seats to see Master Yu looking at her in awe while her father looks absolutely horrified.

* * *

“Dad, I know it’s probably hard for you to see me this way.” she starts. “But the obedient, helpless little blind girl that you think I am just isn’t me.” She finally turns her face up from the ground. “I love fighting. I love being an earthbender. And I’m really, really good at it.”  _ Well she most certainly isn’t wrong there.  _ I glance over at the other three who all have their eyes fixed on her intently. 

“I know I’ve kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me secret from the whole world.” she continues. “You were doing it to protect me, but I’m twelve years old and I’ve never had a real friend.” We all look at each other when she says this, I can hear the hurt in her voice.

“So, now that you see who I really am, I hope it doesn’t change the way you feel about me.” she finishes.

“Of course it doesn’t change the way I feel about you, Toph. It’s made me realize something.” her father responds softly. “It has?” she responds hopefully.

“Yes. I’ve let you have far too much freedom!” his voice turns harsher. “From now on you’ll be cared for and guarded, twenty-four hours a day.” My jaw drops and I look at him in shock.

“But dad!” she doesn’t get to say another word before her mother cuts in. “We are doing this for your own good, Toph.” I glare at them

“Please escort the Avatar and his friends out. They are no longer welcome here.” Mr. Beifong announces one of the servants. “Good riddance.” I scoff sharply at him under my breath as the servant walks up to us.

“I’m sorry, Toph.” I can hear Aang mumble apologetically at the girl. “I’m sorry too. Goodbye, Aang.” she says back before we’re escorted out.

I twirl my knife in my hands again, a scowl on my face as we sit in Appa’s saddle, Sokka polishing his belt. Eventually, Aang and Katara make their way back to us, Aang sitting down between Appa’s horns as he picks up the reins before he turns around.

I hear it a second after he does, panting. Toph makes her way over towards us hurriedly and my expression lightens up for the first time since leaving the mansion. “Toph!” Aang yells in surprise.

“My dad changed his mind, he said I was free to travel the world.” she smiles. Me, Sokka and Katara all look at each other, seeing through her obvious lie before we all smile at each other.

“Well, we better get out of here. Before your dad changes his mind again.” Sokka replies. “Good idea.” she grins. Aang’s whole mood seems to light up severely at the thought of Toph traveling with us. 

“You’re going to be a great teacher, Toph.” he smiles. “Speaking of which, I want to show you something.” And that devilish grin is back on my face as Aang innocently hops off Appa’s head onto the ground. She quickly bends him into a tree and I let a small round of laughter escape me. “Now we’re even.” she smirks at him.

“And, I’ll take the belt back.” she reaches her hand out and Sokka begrudgingly takes it off before throwing it at her. She lets out a pained ‘ow!’ as it hits her square in the head and I need to cover my mouth again. 

“Sorry.” Sokka mutters as Aang falls out of the tree and onto the ground. I shake my head and hop down onto the ground to help her up into the saddle. She rubs her head, muttering curse words under her breath as we make our way up into the saddle and I ruffle her hair playfully. “Welcome to the team.” I cheer to which she punches me hard in the arm. 

I let out a pained grunt before it turns into a fit of giggles and soon her frown is wiped off her face and she’s giggling along with me. 

We settle into the saddle and Appa lifts off the ground with a ‘yip yip’ from Aang, and we’re off, flying in the starry sky. I watch Toph grab onto the side of the saddle, a content look on her face as she slowly closes her eyes and I smile to myself. 

_ I think I could get along with her. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, this was finished alot quicker than i had anticipated. but i just couldn't resist, toph is my favourite and i absolutely adore writing her and her first interactions with the gaang. the next chapter will probably take a bit longer than this one though, but who knows, maybe it'll come out just as quick, we'll just have to wait and see....


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